His victories were all claimed over the Western Front and included 24 four-engine bombers and 47 Supermarine Spitfire fighters.

Bühligen, the son of a pipefitter, was born on 13 December 1917 in Granschütz, in Province of Saxony of the German Empire.

He joined the military service of the Luftwaffe with Flieger-Ersatz-Abteilung (Aviator Replacement Unit) in Oschatz on 13 March 1936.

Following his recruit training he served as an aircraft mechanic with Kampfgeschwader 153 (KG 153—153rd Bomber Wing) from September 1937 to 15 February 1938.

[1] World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland.

Bühligen then trained as a pilot,[Note 1] and was then posted to Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing), named after World War I fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, as an Unteroffizier (non-commissioned officer) on 15 June 1940.

Staffel, the 2nd squadron of I. Gruppe (1st group) of JG 2 which was equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter aircraft.

[7] Bühligen claimed one further aerial victory on 7 November 1940, a Hurricane southeast of the Isle of Wight, before he was transferred to 4.

[9] He then served with the Stab (headquarters unit) of JG 2 and claimed six further aerial victories in August and September 1941, one Hurricane and five Spitfires.

Gruppe claimed 26 aerial victories, including four Spitfires shot down by Bühligen, for the loss of four Fw 190s.

[14] In early November, the Gruppe moved from Beaumont to Merville before ordered to relocate to the Mediterranean Theater.

[15] In early November 1942, the Western Allies launched Operation Torch, the Anglo–American invasion of French North Africa.

Gruppe of JG 2 was withdrawn from the English Channel Front and ordered to San Pietro Clarenza, Sicily.

The Gruppe flew its first missions on 19 November, securing German air and sea transportation to Tunis.

[16] Bühlingen claimed his first aerial victory in this theater of operations on 3 December over a Spitfire south of Tebourba[17] On 5 December, his acting Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) Oberleutnant Adolf Dickfeld submitted Bühligen for preferential promotion to Oberleutnant.

Fliegerkorps (2nd Air Corps) General der Flieger (General of the Aviators) Bruno Loerzer, headquartered at Taormina, Sicily and by Feldmarschall (Field Marshal) Albert Kesselring, at the time Oberbefehlshaber Süd (Commander in Chief in the South).

[11][18] On 26 December, eighteen Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), escorted by eight Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters, attacked the harbor of Bizerte destroying approximately 100 fuel barrels and damaged one cargo ship.

Gruppe intercepted the USAAF formation on their return from the target area, claiming three P-38 fighters shot down, including two by Bühligen.

Staffel intercepted a formation of Douglas A-20 Havoc "Boston" bombers, escorted by Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters, on bombing mission to Fondouk, approximately 140 kilometers (87 miles) south-east of Bizerte.

Gruppe flew numerous missions and claimed twelve aerial victories, including three P-38s shot down by Bühligen, for the loss of two Fw 190s.

During this engagement, Bühligen claimed a North American P-51 Mustang shot down 30 kilometers (19 miles) north-northwest of Berck.

Gruppe against an attack by the USAAF VIII Bomber Command, later renamed to Eighth Air Force, on Nantes and Le Mans.

[38] On 27 April 1944, Major Kurt Ubben Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 2 was killed in action.

[41] On 7 June 1944, Bühligen shot down two Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters in the vicinity of Caen, taking his total to 100 aerial victories.

[47] As Geschwaderkommodore, Bühligen was ordered to Berlin on 22 January 1945 and attended the meeting with Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring which was later dubbed the Fighter Pilots' Mutiny.

The meeting was held at the Haus der Flieger in Berlin and was attended by a number of high-ranking fighter pilot leaders which included Bühligen, Günther Lützow, Hannes Trautloft, Hermann Graf, Gerhard Michalski, Helmut Bennemann, Erich Leie and Herbert Ihlefeld, and their antagonist Göring supported by his staff Bernd von Brauchitsch and Karl Koller.

The fighter pilots, with Lützow taking the lead as spokesman, criticized Göring and made him personally responsible for the decisions taken which effectively had led to the lost air war over Europe.

[48] During the final days of World War II in Europe, Bühligen led JG 2 in operations against the Soviet advance on the Eastern Front.

Two days later, JG 2 relocated to Berlin Tempelhof Airport via Plzeň where they refueled and moved on to Leck Airfield.

From Leck, JG 2 flew missions in support of the German forces fighting in the Battle of Berlin.